i am a changed man.

(before)

(after)

hello! as promised by mum and dad, i went to Camp K-9 yesterday for a haircut! if i do say so myself, i look like a handsome devil. and, carol, my groomer, said that i was very well behaved (for a puppy, especially). mum laughed for about ten minutes when she came home to see me- all of my curls are pretty much clipped off, as is the dark hair on my nose. dad says that i look smaller now, but i think i look more mature! you can hardly tell now where the shaved spot was. i also have a new sophisticated gait when i walk around- proud, i guess. dad was amazed that when he picked me up, the staff advised him to take me out right away as i hadn't gone at all the whole day- he said that i relieved myself for the longest time he's ever seen. i think that i was just a little scared of being in a new place with strangers. enjoy the new, dapper photos!! love, oliver.

staphylo-what?

hi! i've had some exciting (in an interesting sort of way) things happen over the last week! after my last vet visit, just before fourth of july, i received three different vaccinations, and seemed to tolerate them well. the next day, however, mum noticed that i had developed a skin rash- she thought secondary to the immunizations. over the next few days, they noticed some small scabby areas on my skin- again, thought that it was a reaction to my shots. when mum noticed that it suddenly looked as if frosting had spilled onto my back, she knew something was wrong! we had heard of "hot spots" and other airedale skin problems, but of course i had never experienced it. dad brought me to the vet, and a hundred bucks later, i was diagnosed and treated for a staphylococcus skin infection. the vet says that it is very common, especially in puppies- and she thinks that i must have gotten a small cut on my skin when playing with scrappy (my new golden friend from eau claire) which became infected after i swam in lake altoona (unfortunately, mum didn't have her camera for that adventure!) i now am shaved in a large section on my back to allow the biggest spot to heal (dad has taken to calling me "patches"), and taking antibiotics. mum and dad also have had to give me a bath with special soap THREE times per week! we're getting the pattern down, but i still don't like it very much- i make french horn noises when mum's rinsing me off. i also need to get used to the hair dryer- nasty, noisy thing. i'll keep you updated, but here are photos in the meantime! love, oliver.